1. Helps With Sports Injury Rehabilitation. Hot stone massages have also been explored for rehabilitation after certain sports injuries like a tennis elbow.11 The targeted heat massage can increase circulation, soothe damaged tissue and nerves, and boost healing. It can also help with athletic fatigue.
2. Revives Fatigued Muscles. Massage, in general, helps relax tired muscles. With the traditional mineral-rich hot stones used in hot stone massages, your therapist can further work the already relaxed muscles.8 The placement stones also help loosen muscles and get rid of muscular “knots” in your body. The application of heat eases any pain or discomfort you might feel as a result of such knots.
3. Eases Anxiety And Restlessness. When the hot stone massage diffuses heat into your tissues, the muscles in your body relax. This combined with the rhythmic massage strokes and the warming stones help you enter a deep relaxation state, dissipating any restlessness or even anxiety you might be feeling. It can even help relieve the pain and tension associated with headaches.
4. Increases Circulation Of Lymph And Blood For Holistic Well-Being. When your massage therapist uses long Swedish massage style strokes to rub the smooth hot stones over your body, it boosts circulation via thermal stimulation. The increased circulation of not just blood but also lymph means your body is treated to a complete detox and holistic healing.
5. Relieves Pain From Sprains, Strains, And Bursitis. The American Massage Therapy Association suggests the use of hot stone massages for alleviating pain associated with a strained muscle or a sprain. It can even bring you relief from inflammatory conditions like acute bursitis that may cause pain with movement.
6. Improves Consciousness Of Self And Stimulates Energy Flow. For believers in the system of chakras or energy centers of the body, hot stone massage comes with added benefits. Stones are used by a therapist to stimulate the chakra points – like the root chakra at the base of your spine or the third eye on your forehead. This helps stimulate energy flow through the body. Meanwhile, the physical weight of the stones and the fact that the stones themselves have come from the earth help you reconnect with the earth, making you feel more grounded, de-stressed, and relaxed.
7. Activates Reflex Points In The Body More Deeply. Reflexology massages target specific points in the body with a view to stimulating other body parts that each point corresponds to. This helps ease congestion or stress in these organs. A hot stone treatment gives the therapist the opportunity to deepen the experience and leverage the benefits of such therapy. While larger hot stones can give soothing warmth to the feet and lower half of your legs, special pointed hot stones can be employed for the actual reflex point massage.
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